Women's hockey since 2016: progress meets precedent

I’ve been meaning to write a post for some time now. As we approach the 10-year anniversary of the publication of Seeking the Center, I’ve been thinking about how much progress has been made within women’s hockey. The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL), founded less than three years ago, has expanded twice already and now has teams in 12 cities: Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa, Vancouver, Seattle, Boston, New York, Minnesota (not a city, of course, but still counts!), Detroit, Hamilton, San Jose, and Las Vegas. Here’s a “beginner’s guide“ to the league. PWHL “Takeover Tour” games have been played in numerous cities, setting one attendance record after another. My son and I attended the game in Washington, DC, in January of this year. It was one of those record-setting events that was quickly surpassed, but it was an incredibly exciting, inclusive event featuring the New York Sirens v. the Montreal Victoire.

Internationally, women’s hockey received a very strong reception during and after the Winter Olympics in February. The US team won gold, and captain Hilary Knight and defenseman Megan Keller appeared on Saturday Night Live with actor Connor Storrie of Heated Rivalry fame and members of the men’s US national team. The US women’s national team, after being insulted by the US President, was also invited by Flavor Flav to a celebration of their win in Las Vegas in mid July.

But just as I was gearing up to finally write about the progress that women’s hockey has made in achieving more equity with men’s hockey, the Hockey Hall of Fame (HHOF) announced  its inductees for this year. You can read Ian Kennedy’s article “Historic Exclusion of Women from the Hockey Hall of Fame Continues” for details and context, but suffice it to say that, yet again, the Hockey Hall of Fame In Toronto has neglected to induct a full contingent of women’s players, choosing only one, Cindy Curley, while inducting four male players and one male “builder” of the sport. This is in spite of a rich history of women’s hockey and, of course, a notable expansion of the sport during the generation since women’s hockey was added to the Olympics in 1998.

This exclusion by the HHOF is, of course, part of a pattern that continues, even as the HHOF includes inducted members who have been accused of and/or arrested for domestic abuse and sexual assault against women. Again, please read Kennedy’s article referenced above for details.

It’s long past time for the HHOF to recognize women as fellow players and fellow humans who deserve recognition, rights, and respect. In the meantime, fans now have a joyful, inclusive, world-class option in the PWHL. The season starts in November. If you’re not lucky enough to have a team in your city (yet), be on the lookout for Takeover Tour games near you. I promise, you will not be disappointed.

Update: Maria Campbell's "Halfbreed"

In March of last year I posted a few words about Maria Campbell's autobiography Halfbreed, one of the many books that inspired me when I was writing Seeking the Center.

Just a couple of weeks ago I read that a researcher has found two pages of Campbell's manuscript that were omitted when it was published in 1973. The pages describe Campbell's rape by a Canadian Mountie when she was fourteen years old (which would have been nearly twenty years earlier). It seems that her publisher decided not to include the passage for fear that the R.C.M.P. (Royal Canadian Mounted Police, aka "Mounties") would try to halt its publication.

At the time Jack McClelland, her publisher, reasoned that, if the incident were included in her story, the Mounties would challenge it, and the onus would be on Campbell to prove it. McClelland knew that the word of an Indigenous woman would mean nothing against the word of an R.C.M.P. officer. Campbell herself had wanted the passage included regardless, and didn't know that the publisher had nixed it until she received the printed copy in the mail. 

Perhaps it is fitting that the pages, and the associated story, should come to light in the #MeToo era. For more information, you can read the CBC story here. Please note that it includes the missing pages that describe the rape.